Land-based, on-line poker system

Abstract

An on-line poker game system includes a poker table staffed with a live dealer with a plurality of designated seats assigned to at least one a remote player and one or more live players or to a plurality of remote players. Remote players connect to the system via a wide area network. Located at each designated seat is a private card camera that transmits images of the face down cards dealt thereto. A public card camera transmits real images of all face up cards dealt on the poker table. A table camera is used to transmit images of all or a portion of poker table and the dealer. A RFID reader, a barcode reader or OCR software program are used to determine the identities of the public and private cards dealt with each hand. The descriptive information for the public and private cards are stored in the game logic server and sent to each remote player display.

I claim: 
     
       1. An on-line poker game system, comprising:
 a. a card room containing a poker table with designated seats located thereon; 
 b. at least one dealer assigned to said poker table, said dealer used to deal playing cards used in a poker game to designated seats on said poker table assigned to players physically located at said poker table or players remotely located from said card room; 
 c. at least two players assigned to said designated seats at said poker table with at least one player being located at a remote location from said card room; 
 d. a wide area network; 
 e. transparent panel located on said poker table at or near each said designated seat; 
 f. a private card camera aimed to view the bottom surface of a playing card placed face down on said transparent panel, said private card camera coupled to said wide area network to transmit an image of the face down cards placed on said transparent panel only to said remote player assigned to said designated seat; 
 g. a single deck of fifty-two standard size playing cards to be played at said poker table; 
 h. at least one public card camera located above said poker table or at or near each said designated seat used to create and transmit an image of face up playing cards dealt on said poker table; 
 i. means for verifying the identity of each public card as it is dealt on said table; 
 j. means for verifying the identity of each said private card as it is dealt on said table; 
 k. a game logic server including working memory with at least one poker game managing software program loaded therein, said poker game managing software program enabling said game logic server to act as a state machine to managing a poker game played between said players assigned to said designated seats at said poker table, said game logic server being connected to said means for verifying the identity of said private cards and said means for verifying the identity of said public cards so that card identity therefrom is recorded into a game file; 
 l. a web server connected to said wide area network and to said game logic server; 
 m. a remote computer operated by said each player at a remote location and assigned to one said designated seat on at said poker table, said remote computer including working memory, means for connecting said remote computer connected to said wide area network, and a display; and, 
 n. a game software program used to present the image of a poker table with designated seats assigned to live or remote players on said display of said remote players assigned to one said designated seat at said poker table, said game software program also used to present images of face-up playing cards dealt on said poker table on said displays operated by all said remote players and to present images of face down playing cards dealt to said designated seat assigned to said remote player to said display used by said remote player, said game software program also used to receive poker game instructions from said remote player. 
 
     
     
       2. The on-line poker game system, as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said means for verifying the identity of each said private card is a deck of playing cards with each card including an identifying RFID tag located on each said card and at least one RFID detecting device used to detect said RFID tag when said playing card is swiped through said RFID detecting device. 
     
     
       3. The on-line poker game system, as recited in  claim 2 , wherein said RFID detecting device is located near said dealer and oriented so that said card maybe swiped through said RFID detector simultaneously as said playing card is being dealt. 
     
     
       4. The on-line poker game system, as recited in  claim 2 , wherein said RFID detecting device is located near said transparent panel so the identity of said playing card may be determined simultaneously as said playing card is positioned in a face down position on said transparent panel. 
     
     
       5. The on-line poker game system, as recited in  claim 4 , wherein said RFID detecting device is located adjacent to said transparent panel. 
     
     
       6. The on-line poker game system, as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said means for verifying the identity of said private cards is a deck of playing cards with each said card including a barcode located thereon and at least one barcode reader used to read said barcode when said playing card is passed through said barcode reader. 
     
     
       7. The on-line poker game system, as recited in  claim 6 , wherein said barcode reader is located near said dealer and oriented so that said card may be passed through said barcode reader simultaneously as said card is dealt. 
     
     
       8. The on-line poker game system, as recited in  claim 6 , wherein said barcode reader is located near said transparent panel so the identity of said private playing card may be determined simultaneously while said private playing card is being positioned in a face down position on said transparent panel. 
     
     
       9. The on-line poker game system, as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said means for verifying the identity of said private cards or said public cards is an OCR software program that uses the images from said private card camera or said public card camera and sends a description of said private card or said public card to said display. 
     
     
       10. The on-line poker game system, as recited in  claim 1 , further including at least one table camera used to show the image of the said public cards on said poker table and said dealer, said table camera being coupled to each said remote computer enabling said players to view said public cards and said dealer. 
     
     
       11. The on-line poker game system, as recited in  claim 2 , further including at least one table camera used to show the area of said poker table where said public cards dealt are placed and said dealer may be seen, said table camera being coupled to each said remote computer enabling said players to view said public cards and said dealer. 
     
     
       12. The on-line poker game system, as recited in  claim 6 , further including at least one table camera used to show the area of said poker table where said public cards are placed and said dealer may be seen, said table camera being coupled to each said remote computer enabling said remote players to view said public cards and said dealer. 
     
     
       13. The on-line poker game system, as recited in  claim 6 , further including at least one table camera used to show an image of the said public cards dealt on said poker table and said dealer, said table camera being coupled to each said remote computer enabling said remote players to view said public cards and said dealer. 
     
     
       14. The on-line poker game system, as recited in  claim 1 , further including a poker game interface on said display on said remote computers, said interface presents separate images of said public cards on said table from said public card camera, and private cards from said private card camera and said table camera. 
     
     
       15. The on-line poker game system, as recited in  claim 1 , further including a database server connected to said game logic server, said database server being used to record specific game information. 
     
     
       16. A method for playing on-line poker game, comprising the following steps:
 a. selecting a remote computer using a display, said remote computer able to communicate over a communication network with an on-line poker game system; 
 b. connecting said remote computer to a wide area network; 
 c. connecting said remote computer to an on-line poker game system connected to said wide area network, said system includes a poker table with a card dealer for dealing who deals playing cards for the game of poker to be played at said poker table, said poker table includes a plurality of designated seats, each said designated seat being assigned to a player located at said poker table or to a player located at a remote location and connected to said game system using said remote computer, each said designated seat assigned either to a player adjacent to said table or assigned to a player at a remote location, each said designated seat includes a transparent panel located on said poker table at or near said designated seat and a private card camera configured to view the bottom surface of face down playing cards dealt onto said transparent panel, said transparent panel and said private card camera located at each said designated seat assigned to a player at a remote location, said poker system also includes at least one public card camera for viewing that views playing cards dealt face-up on said poker table; 
 means for verifying the identity of each said public card dealt on said table; 
 means for verifying the identity of each said private card dealt on said table; 
 said system also game logic server connected to said wide area network with a poker game managing software program loaded therein, said game logic server being connected to said means for verifying the identity of said private cards and said means for verifying the identity of said public cards so that the identity of said private cards and said public cards is is recorded into a game file on said game logic server; 
 said poker game managing software program configured to manage a poker game played at said poker table with at least one remote player assigned to one said designated seat; 
 d. logging onto said system using said remote computer and connected to said game logic server; 
 e presenting a poker game interface on said display, said poker game interface includes the image of a poker table that shows the location of the plurality of designated seats located thereon, and a plurality of poker game action buttons used to select different activities during a poker game, said interface also including designated areas where the images of said private card camera and said public card cameras are shown, said interface also including areas where the codes or descriptions of said means for verifying said private cards and said public cards are presented; 
 f. choosing a designated seat on said poker table with a plurality of designated seats, at least one said seat being assigned to at least one player located at said poker table or to a player at a remote location; and, 
 g. playing a game of poker with the dealer assigned to said poker table and with a single deck of fifty-two standard size playing cards; and with one or more other players assigned to another said designated seat at said poker table, said remote computer used to communicate with said game logic server to send and receive instructions and data from said game logic server, said remote computer able to receive images from said public card camera to display images of face-up playing cards dealt on said poker table and to receive images from said private card camera to obtain images of said face down playing cards so as to display the face-down playing cards dealt to said designated seat assigned to said player at said remote location, said remote computer able to input poker game instructions to said game logic server. 
 
     
     
       17. A method for playing on-line poker game, as recited in  claim 16 , wherein said system on-line poker game system further includes a table camera that transmits an image of the dealer dealing cards at said poker table to each said remote computer.